A California mom was deported, then allowed back into the US. The latest:
A 42-year-old DACA recipient, who had been deported to Mexico after attending a routine green card appointment in Sacramento, was reunited with her daughter at the border 40 days later. Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez’s return followed extensive reporting from The Sacramento Bee that highlighted her removal from the United States, which occurred despite her having legal permission to remain in the country.
Estrada Juarez had lived in California for 27 years and was detained at her green card appointment in downtown Sacramento. The deportation drew national attention to immigration enforcement actions against recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. A federal judge eventually ordered the U.S. government to return Estrada Juarez, calling her deportation a “flagrant violation” of constitutional due process rights.
Bee reporter Mathew Miranda and visual journalist Hector Amezcua were with Estrada Juarez and her daughter Monday night as Estrada Juarez returned to the U.S.. Here are key takeaways from this and other Bee reporting:
FULL STORY: California mother reunited at border with daughter after deportation
• Estrada Juarez was arrested Feb. 18 at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in Sacramento less than an hour after arriving for a green card appointment. She was bussed to Tijuana within 24 hours.
• U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins granted emergency relief on March 23, ordering the government to allow Estrada Juarez back within a week. Coggins said the deportation violated due process rights and protections under DACA, which Estrada Juarez obtained in 2013.
• Estrada Juarez’s return makes her one of the few people allowed back into the country after a deportation during President Donald Trump’s second term, according to immigration experts. “It’s almost impossible to get a person back in the country,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a retired professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School.
• The Department of Homeland Security said it deported 86 DACA recipients between Jan. 1 and Nov. 19, 2025. Before Estrada Juarez, there appears to be only one other case in which a recipient was allowed to return.
• Estrada Juarez reunited with her daughter, Damaris Bello, 22, at the San Ysidro pedestrian crossing Monday night at 7:30 p.m. after being held inside the port of entry for hours. “I don’t have a life if she’s not with me,” Estrada Juarez said.
• Back in Sacramento Tuesday afternoon, Estrada Juarez said she has appealed the federal government’s denial of her green application — the first step in what ultimately resulted in her deportation nearly six weeks ago. “I will not give up on my future or my family,” she said during a news conference at Sacramento City Hall, hours after flying back to the capital region. Said her attorney, Stacy Tolchin: “This case is not just about Maria. It shows how quickly things can go wrong, even for people who are doing everything right. It shows just why due process is so important.”
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. Any content produced using AI tools is reviewed by reporters and editors before publication in compliance with McClatchy Media’s AI policy.
This story was originally published March 31, 2026 at 1:21 PM with the headline "A California mom was deported, then allowed back into the US. The latest:."
